Deliberation and citizenship: closing some of the gaps related to the "Values in Education" initiative in South Africa

Abstract

I argue that the implementation of the Department of Education's "Values in Education" initiative would be problematic without also invoking procedures of deliberation. Unlike the identified "values" on their own - i.e. equity, tolerance, multilingualism, openness, accountability, and honour, as announced by the Department of Education - deliberative procedures offer the possibility to deepen a sense of citizenship in schools. My contention is that the "Values in Education" initiative has a better chance of cultivating citizenship in schools if enacted commensurate with the notion of deliberative democracy.


South African Journal of Education Vol.24(4) 2004: 278-283